Got this book for my 4.5 yr old nephew who struggles with controlling anger and putting into words why he is angry. This book is perfectly suitable for a 4.5 yr old. I read the book to my nephew first and then my sister (his mom) read it to him. The book starts with a very short intro to Miles and his brother Max. With the scene set, the story proceeds to Max breaking a toy special to Miles. Miles gets angry, yells at Max, and then looks in the mirror. Instead of his reflection, he sees a red monster named "Mad". The monster helps Miles identify his anger by how it feels physically. The monster and Miles quickly discuss hitting as a way to deal with anger and that method is dismissed. Then the monster asks Miles why he is angry. As Miles begins to explain, the monster starts to shrink & eventually disappear. Miles ends up making amends with Max.
The book is a fast read - even with discussion. That helped since this is a difficult topic. The book gave me and my sister a way to explain that everyone gets angry and relate the story to my nephew's most recent tantrum. My sister suggested we wait to read the book until an emotionally neutral time. That significantly helped the topic be approachable. My nephew responded a little bashfully at first. He wasn't quite sure about discussing this. I told him we all get mad & he was stunned that everyone gets angry. We talked about how anger can be good in that it tells us there's something we want to be different than it is and that "using our words" to explain why we are angry means telling what we want to be different. My nephew's reaction overall was quite positive. My sister asked my nephew at the end how he thought Miles' mommy felt. Another constructive dimension to the conversation.
When we read this to my nephew, I read it to him first in his room. I talked about how I love this book (had read it before giving to sister) and how he and I sometimes get angry the same way. After I read this to my nephew, he asked my sister to read it to him and I sat aside quietly so we weren't "ganging up". This book is a fabulous way to start the discussion and will be reread many times. I'm grateful to have found it!
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